Comments for Andrew Wightman

Comment on Shack attack by Alexwebmaster

Alexwebmaster — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:52:51 +0000

Hello webmaster
I would like to share with you a link to your site
write me here preonrelt@mail.ru

Comment on Shack attack by ticketcollector

ticketcollector — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:27:36 +0000

Thanks for your report.

I was waiting for a concert in Paris at the beginning of 2008 but it was cancelled.

Maybe undecided ?

Bye

Comment on In praise of King Newt by esquilax

esquilax — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:20:21 +0000

Just googled to see if anyone had made the same observation as myself concerning the parallels between Boris Johnson and Sanitation Commissioner Simpson. Glad to see someone has

Comment on Brown-nosing Liverpool by Concorde

Concorde — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:27:12 +0000

“now finds themselves on the verge of being taken over by their rivals after spending the past decade in a superior position?”

In your dreams la……and “past decade”! For a so-called journalist your fact checking leaves a lot to be desired.

Comment on The strange case of David Healy by celpjefscycle

celpjefscycle — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:09:55 +0000

Thanks for information.
many interesting things
Celpjefscylc

Comment on Meeting Maggie May by John Gannon

John Gannon — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:46:21 +0000

As you might know, folk songs of all kinds were, and are, open to use and abuse: lyrics were changed to fit any number of personal circumstances, a form of ‘Chinese whispers’. In the article, the reference to Charles Picknell refers more to his validity as a witness to the original lyrics of the song, rather than to when he first heard the song. In researching both names, ‘Maggie May’ and ‘Nellie Ray’, in the passenger lists of all the convict ships from the first fleet to the last fleet, I found no reference at all to a female passenger with the surname ‘May’ let alone Maggie or Margaret; the only female named ‘Ray’, of all the passengers in the all the fleets in all the years of transportations (1787 – 1868) was ‘Mary Ann Ray’: of all the courts in England, Mary was indicted in Liverpool: not only was she a prostitute and a thief – she also stole ‘from the person’.

I would agree, on the face of it, ‘theft from the person’ was endemic to the profession: it would seem to go with the territory, and I’m sure their clients knew this only too well. This would then beg the questions: Why the celebratory song about one of them? What made this particular prostitute different enough?

In an effort to populate the new colonies, the court system during the early 19th Century worked a two-an-out-system: the second time you were found guilty at the quarter sessions (for whatever reason, and despite your age) you were transported. As you point out, many of the women transported were recorded as having had a history of being ‘on the town’ (prostitution itself not being an indictable offence): so why did Nellie Ray (according to Charles Picknell) have a song about her? According the record, she had been a prostitute since she was 14; and, at just under five-feet tall, did this make her something of a popular target? Shameful to say, but prostitutes’ clients of the time liked their ladies as young as possible; largely to avoid picking up any unwanted diseases (loss of money through loss of work and the pain and expense of a hopeful cure). Add to this, that her associate, Catherine Mack, was an habitual thief. Upon her transportation (previous to Nellie’s), also to Van Diemen’s Land, she was only 14 (also 4-feet 11) and had been surviving on the streets of Liverpool, through theft, for 3-years previous. Her first conviction was for stealing handkerchiefs and silk from a tailor’s shop in Fleet Street: she was arrested when she took these to a pawn shop in Vauxhall Road whereupon the proprietor held her and brought the police. Her second indictment (for which she was transported) was for stealing a pair of boots and a jacket worth 5-shillings each – she was not a prostitute: if Nellie and Catherine were a ‘team’ on the streets of Liverpool, possibly helping each other to survive, this could be where we get the lines ‘skinned so many tailors’ and ‘pawnshop number 9’ These two were so close, previous to, and after meeting up again in Van Dieman’s Land, when Nellie had her first child whilst still at the female factory, not only was Catherine the child’s godmother, Nellie named her after Catherine.

The evidence presented, I would agree, is circumstantial; however, after 166-years, circumstantial is all we have to go on.

Comment on Meeting Maggie May by Hamish Keddie

Hamish Keddie — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 08:19:09 +0000

If the song is noted as existing in 1830 how can it be about a girl who arrived in Liverpool in 1832 and was deported about 1841? Which isn’t to say that the life of the “Nellie Ray” discovered by John Gannon isn’t interesting or woth a series being made about her. Just that she can’t be the origin of the song. I would guess that there were several possible originals for “maggie may” or “nellie ray” – after all prostitutes robbing their clients isn’t that unusual! Between 20% and 40% of women trasported to Australia are recorded as having been prostitutes (the % refers to the women in each ship) and many were convicted of theft, though not necessarily from their clients.

Hamish

Comment on The Departed by Good things come to those who wait « Andrew Wightman

Good things come to those who wait « Andrew Wightman — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:20:00 +0000

[...] overwhelming favourite to win the Best Director award at the Academy Awards for his gangster epic The Departed, and is priced by Ladbrokes at 1/4, ahead of Greengrass at [...]

Comment on Does Benitez cut it? by Momo

Momo — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 15:35:47 +0000

Kromkamp was a straight swap for Josemi. He was then sold on for approx £2,5m to PSV. Yes he has spent big bucks on the likes of Crouch/Garcia/Bellamy but it has paid off to some extent, especially in Garcia’s case (he has bailed us out in many a big games, which you grudgingly have to admit.
If you don’t its cool, because pride sometimes gets in the way) Bellamy still far too early to tell but the boy has fight in him that’s for sure.

Still, another sly dig at Liverpool, I love it Andy. Keep it coming

Have a good time in Brazil buddy